22 September 2013

Barley Stuffed Bell Peppers (GF Alternative)


This was the only photo I took where it didn't seem like the peppers were looking at me.
The first time I ever made stuffed bell peppers, the peppers were really underdone.  The stuffed stuff was perfect and I knew if I cooked the peppers any more it would dry out.  What did I do wrong?  I was an inexperienced cook at the time and didn't know that the secret to stuffed bell peppers is parboiling them first! 

Dunk the bell peppers in boiling water for a few minutes, and then stuff them, and then bake them. 

Here's what I stuffed these guys with:

I cooked some barley with water and a little tomato juice (you can skip this or sub lemon juice for a bit of flavour), chopped onion, a tiny bit of chopped celery (don't go overboard with the celery unless you want it to be the dominant flavour), some parsley, a little brewer's yeast (not the same as nutritional yeast, brewer's yeast is nuttier and a teeny bit bitter -- you can skip this entirely or substitute marmite or a dash of soy sauce or miso or something like that), a tsp of extra virgin olive oil, and some salt and pepper.  Once the barley was cooked, I stuffed it into the bells and popped them into the oven at 180ºC/350ºF for about 15-20 minutes.  I was just waiting for the tops of the bells to brown.  It's nice this way -- the flavour of the pepper kind of starts to infuse into the barley.

If you are GF or don't like barley, you can sub millet or brown rice.  It's all good.

I served the stuffed bells with a side of Tomato and Butter Bean Coriander Casserole.  I didn't use spinach this time and used quartered baby onions instead of regular chopped onion.  It was delish and this meal was a big hit with my kids!

2 comments:

  1. Stuffed peppers are the best! You've just taught me something re: the pre-boiling there, so thank you!

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  2. Oh yum, I love barley. These look great! And I hear you on the peppers-looking-at-you thing. Creepy.

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